Emmanuel Macron
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday (January 20, 2025) warned that Russia’s war against Ukraine would not end “tomorrow or the day after” as Donald Trump, who pledged to quickly wind up the conflict, returned to the White House.
“Let us not delude ourselves,” Mr. Macron said in his New Year’s address to the French armed forces.
“This conflict will not end tomorrow or the day after,” Mr. Macron said, speaking as Mr. Trump was sworn in and as the third anniversary of Russia’s war against Ukraine approached next month.
Mr. Trump promised over the summer to end Russia’s war against Ukraine “in 24 hours”, although he did not explain how he planned to do that, before more recently suggesting a timeline of several months.
Speaking in Cesson-Sevigne in northwestern France, Mr. Macron said that it was important to give Ukraine “the means to last, and to enter any future negotiations from a position of strength”.
“The challenge tomorrow, when hostilities cease, will be to give Ukraine guarantees against any return to war on its territory, and assurances for our own security.”
Mr. Macron has repeatedly called on Europe to assume more responsibility for its own defence, and he reiterated that call on Monday.
“There can be no peace and security in Europe without Europeans,” Mr. Macron said, referring to the Ukraine war and to European involvement in the negotiations.
Mr. Trump has questioned Washington’s commitment to defend NATO allies and spoken of slashing support to Ukraine.
His return to the White House is a renewed spur to Europeans, long used to conventional and nuclear protection from the U.S. military, to reexamine their own defence.
“What will we do in Europe tomorrow if our American ally withdraws its warships from the Mediterranean? If they send their fighter planes from the Atlantic to the Pacific?” Mr. Macron said.
“The answer will have to come from us.”
Published – January 21, 2025 10:15 am IST
